London- Day 5

Our 5th day in London started off with a walking tour. It was the Royal Walking Tour which featured getting to see the Changing of the Guard. Unfortunately, there was a marathon going on that day and the Changing of the Guard was cancelled. To make up for this, our tour guide combined the Royal Walking Tour with some of her other walking tours. We strolled through St. James’s Park, which is apparently one of the most beautiful Royal Parks and also passed by Buckingham Palace.

We also got to see many of the stores that the Royal family used (they all have the Coat of Arms displayed somewhere) like Fortnum and Mason’s and Floris. Our tour guide was full of knowledge and we learned a lot from her.

Throughout London, you might see these poles with what looks like the Chanel logo. These poles mark which part of the city you’re in- a W for Westminster and a C for the City. Apparently, when a duke was having these poles placed in London, he had been having a 10-year affair with Coco Chanel. He was in love with her and thus, had her initials placed on the poles. However, when he proposed to her, Coco Chanel rejected him. By then, it was too late to have her initials removed. Quite an interesting and cool story!

After the walk, we went back to explore Buckingham Palace as well as some of the other Royal Gardens. We ended up walking through Hyde Park to Kensington Gardens. All the parks in London are gorgeous. I absolutely fell in love with Kensington Gardens and it’s probably one of my favourite places in London that I visited.